November 11 marked the ten-year anniversary of Bury Me at Makeout Creek‘s release. Like any self-respecting Mitski fan (maybe that’s an oxymoron), I begged all of my friends to give the album a listen. It being the anniversary of my favorite Mitski album also inspired me to reflect on Mitski’s discography as a whole.
It is difficult to encapsulate everything that makes Mitski’s music so captivating. I return to her discography time and time again because her work is so uniquely vulnerable and nostalgic. So in the spirit of nostalgia, here are my thoughts reflecting on Mitski’s albums throughout the years.
Lush (2012)
Significance: Lush marks the beginning of Mitski’s individual discography. Mitski created the album as a student in music school.
Key themes: Beauty, validation, and gendered expectations.
Songs exploring these themes:
Beauty: “Liquid Smooth” and “Brand New City”.
Validation: “Eric” and “Bag of Bones”.
Gendered expectations: “Real Men” and “Wife”.
Retired from Sad, New Career in Business (2013)
Significance: Retired From Sad is Mitski’s first cohesively written album. Although also released during her college years, Mitski describes the work as her first fully written album as opposed to the collection of songs used to create Lush.
Key themes: Idealization, parent-child relationships, and shame.
Songs exploring these themes:
Idealization: “Strawberry Blond” and “Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart”.
Parent-child relationships: “Class of 2013” and “Because Dreaming Costs Money, My Dear”.
Shame: “Circle” and “Shame”.
Bury Me at Makeout Creek (2014)
Significance: BMAMC is my personal favorite Mitski album. The album is the first of Mitski’s works to not be self-released in school.
Key themes: Freedom, disillusionment, and codependency.
Songs exploring these themes:
Freedom: “Townie” and “Carry Me Out”.
Disillusionment: “Drunk Walk Home” and “Last Words of a Shooting Star”.
Codependency: “I Don’t Smoke” and “First Love / Late Spring”.
Puberty 2 (2016)
Significance: Puberty 2 is arguably Mitski’s most vulnerable album. This album received widespread critical acclaim and one of the songs was covered on Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time.
Key themes: Doomed relationships, depression, and secrecy.
Songs exploring these themes:
Doomed relationships: “I Bet on Losing Dogs” and “Your Best American Girl”.
Depression: “Crack Baby” and “Fireworks”.
Secrecy: “Once More to See You” and “A Loving Feeling”.
Be The Cowboy (2018)
Significance: Be The Cowboy is Mitski’s most popular album, reaching new heights of popularity on TikTok in 2020. With the success of her album online came newfound fame. Mitski was inactive online during this time and on indefinite hiatus from music.
Key themes: Nostalgia, identity, and enabling.
Songs exploring these themes:
Nostalgia: “Old Friend” and “Lonesome Love”.
Identity: “Nobody” and “Me and My Husband”.
Enabling: “Washing Machine Heart” and “A Pearl”.
Laurel Hell (2022)
Significance: Laurel Hell marks Mitski’s return to music after an indefinite hiatus. Although appreciated by critics, the album was not received well by many newer fans.
Key themes: Commodification, exhaustion, and escapism.
Songs exploring these themes:
Commodification: “Everyone” and “Working for the Knife”.
Exhaustion: “The Only Heartbreaker” and “Heat Lightning”.
Escapism: “Love Me More” and “I Guess”.
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2023)
Significance: The most recent addition to Mitski’s discography, TLIIASAW is quintessentially Mitski. This tour was the first time I was able to see Mitski live and I describe it as life-changing. Whether Mitski decides to continue music or not, this album shows that she has made peace with who she is as an artist.
Key themes: Love, self-loathing, and memories.
Songs exploring these themes:
Love: “My Love Mine All Mine” and “Star”.
Self-loathing: “I Don’t Like My Mind” and “The Deal”.
Memories: “When Memories Snow” and “The Frost”.